A seed is a miniature plant protected from unfavourable conditions in a dry capsule that enables it to travel in time from one generation to the next.Most seeds are desiccation tolerant, long-lived under MSB conditions, and compact, making seed banks one of the most effective and efficient ways of conserving species for the future.If a seed can be dried so that it contains only about 5% moisture, it can be kept below freezing (at -20°C in the Millennium Seed Bank) without the risk of ice forming in the seed and killing the embryo.
